1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a copy cassette supply apparatus for automatically selecting and supplying a desired copy cassette, which holds a copy to be read, to an image reading apparatus.
2. Prior Art
Image scanning reading and reproducing systems are widely used in the printing and platemaking industries for electrically processing image information of originals or copies to produce original film plates with a view to simplifying the entire process and improving the quality of printed images.
The image scanning reading and reproducing systems have an image reading apparatus. In the image reading apparatus, an original or copy which is stored and positioned in a copy cassette is fed to an image reader, and then is two-dimensionally scanned to read image information therefrom.
More specifically, the copy cassette is first fed to the image reader, and the image information is preliminarily read from the copy in order to establish image processing conditions. Thereafter, the copy cassette is removed from the image reader, and the image processing conditions are established by the operator while the operator is viewing the copy in the copy cassette. After the image processing conditions have been established and entered, the copy cassette is manually inserted and then fed to the image reader again, and the image information is fully read from the copy according to the established image processing conditions.
Since the copy cassette is manually removed and inserted again in the above process, the operator may erroneously pick up another copy cassette and insert the wrong copy cassette into the image reading apparatus. If the wrong copy cassette is inserted in error, then the established image processing conditions are improper for the image information of the copy in the wrong copy cassette.
To eliminate the above drawback, it has been proposed to provide a cassette identifying means in the vicinity of a copy cassette insertion slot of the image reading apparatus. A copy cassette a it is inserted is identified by the cassette identifying means to prevent insertion of the wrong copy cassette.
However, whether an inserted copy cassette is a desired one or not can be recognized only when it reaches the cassette identifying means. Therefore, when the wrong copy cassette is detected by the cassette identifying means, the wrong copy cassette has to be removed, and a desired copy cassette has to be inserted again. Accordingly, it image information in the event of a cassette insertion error.
It has been desired to combine the image reading apparatus with an automatic copy cassette supplying apparatus which can automatically supply a plurality of copy cassettes in order to handle a large number of copies to be read. With such an automatic copy cassette supplying apparatus connected to the image reading apparatus, copy cassettes are successively supplied from the automatic copy cassette supplying apparatus to the image reading apparatus in the order in which the copy cassettes have been loaded into the automatic copy cassette supplying apparatus.
One problem with the conventional automatic copy cassette supplying apparatus is that any one of the copy cassettes, even if it requires immediate processing, cannot be fed to the image reading apparatus out of the sequence in which they have been loaded.
Moreover, in the event of a failure of the automatic copy cassette supplying apparatus, it can no longer supply any copy cassettes to the image reading apparatus. Even when the automatic copy cassette supplying apparatus operates normally, if a great number of copy cassettes are handled, then any desired copy cassette cannot quickly be supplied to the image reading apparatus.